How can forests be preserved?
Intact, unmanaged forest communities compensate for damage and losses in the forest itself. Their share in Germany is negligible. For centuries, care has therefore been taken to cut only as much wood as will grow back. In Germany, forests are used and managed sustainably. However, the actual demand for timber in Europe has long been met via global value chains and satisfied by timber imports and overexploitation in other regions of the world. The Helsinki Declaration of 1993 at the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (FOREST EUROPE), at the latest, greatly expanded the concept of sustainable forest management. It is integrated into today's forest programs and is defined as "the management and use of forests and forest areas in a way and to an extent that maintains their biological diversity, productivity, regenerative capacity and vitality and ensures their ability to fulfill important ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels now and in the future, without causing damage to other ecosystems".
These requirements pose major challenges for forest managers. They are implemented on a day-to-day basis in complex short to long-term planning and work assignments. The demand for many free forest services can no longer be financed through timber sales alone. There is a risk that the domestic forestry sector will wither as an economic factor and become increasingly dependent on tax-funded, politically motivated public subsidies. Instead, the wood required is imported from unsustainably managed forests around the world. Certifications are intended to help buyers in the local to global timber market. The constant exchange between forest managers and interested parties should help to find individual, sustainable forest management for each of the unique forest areas. The diversity of our forests requires social cohesion and protection against risks and crises. In practice, this means diverse forms of management adapted locally to each piece of forest as well as regional value chains to finance local stakeholders and managers.
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